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#BlackLivesMatter March on Seattle in solidarity with Baltimore and Freddie Gray on May 9, 2015 (photo by Jama Abdirahman, courtesy of Hammer Museum)

African-American women have been central to the struggle for civil rights, as both organizers — like the creators of the #BlackLivesMatter movement — and victims of institutional violence. Co-presented with the African-American Policy Forum, “Her Dream Deferred: On the Status of Black Women” at the Hammer Museum aims to explore the complicated position of black women and girls in America.

The program begins Tuesday evening with #SayHerName, a multi-act performance curated by Abby Dobson that employs song, movement, and spoken word to honor black female victims of police violence. On Wednesday evening, historian Brenda Stevenson and legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw will lead a discussion on the legacy of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year old African-American girl whose 1991 shooting death at the hands of a local liquor store owner was a pivotal event in the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. Thursday’s talk will focus on Black Women in Media, with a panel made up of actresses Diahann Carroll, Tonya Pinkins, and LisaGay Hamilton, Hollywood casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign, and University of Alabama professor Kristen Warner. All events are free, and can also be live-streamed on the Hammer’s website.